Montessori Transition - Argument #3

Montessori is great for preschool but beyond that why should I pay for something I can get for free at public schools?

In today's hard economic times, this is a valid argument for why families leave Montessori after the preschool years. Many families argue that they simply can't afford private education. But within the Montessori world, there are just as many parents who argue that they can't afford NOT to pay for private education.

With approximately 16% of our student body receiving some form of financial aid and the majority of our families falling into the "two-income middle class" designation of American life, talk to any Montessori family and you're likely to hear about how they struggle to pay rising tuition costs. In reality, the approximate cost of nine years of Montessori education (from age 3 to 12) will run $45,000.00. That's a lot of money!

But compare that with the rising cost of a four-year college education which is now running $45,000.00 and just in the last year jumped 10.5% and is expected to keep climbing. There's no way to guesstimate what four years of college will cost in 10 to 15 years when our children get ready to matriculate.

Many of our current families feel very strongly that they are "paying for college now" in that giving their children the skills, abilities, and academic advances afforded through Montessori education will pay dividends later when their children move into high school and begin accumulating high GPAs, honor classes and pre-college credit through AP courses, high ACT or SAT scores, outstanding community service efforts, leadership roles in school clubs and organizations, and all the others things that colleges look for in scholarship candidates.

Every family spends money on things they value be it new cars, housing, vacations, charitable organizations. For our families, you will find that they value education; they are willing to invest in their child's future. And, yes, for many of them it is a sacrifice, but a sacrifice they are willing to make.